notes from my year in asia

Well, well, well…. one year ago I left Italy with the idea to start a Round the World Trip and since then many things happened… First of all I suddenly realized that it was not possible for me to make a RTW trip in a reasonable time, when I was in Hong Kong I thought to have just a look into China and I finished to stay there 4 months, and only to see Yunnan and Sichuan, so I reckon that I would need something like 3-4 years to achieve my original plan. But it is not a problem at all, I like to travel slow, very slow, I like to see and too appreciate little details, so even if I will not see all the world this time, I will be happy as well, which is a good goal for this trip and in general for my life.




Then in this year I saw many wonderful places, I ate a lot of local foods, I had many meetings, most of the time with great people that I will carry forever inside me and I got a girlfriend too, not bad for 1 year of solo traveling.



Now I am in Kunming, but in 1 week I will be traveling again in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos due to my Chinese visa issues, so time to rock again!



My top 20 highlights of the first year of traveling :

- Playing the “you know my friend Tim” game during English classes teaching in Yangshuo;

- Playing basketball with monks at almost 4000 mt in Tagong;

- Finding a bunch of mountains goats in the mist at 6,30 AM during the trekking at Tiger Leaping Gorge;

- Going from 3.800 mt up to 4500 mt and back in the same day during the trekking in the Yading holy mountains;

- Carrying stones with the head for 2 weeks when I was staying in Buddhist temple in the mountains around Dali;

- Sky buring in Litang;

- Diving in Thailand, Malaysia and Philippines;

- Sunrise in Dali and sunshine in Ko Jum and Langkawi;

- Get lost with motorbike in the Boulevan Plateau and finding secret waterfalls (and getting sun burn all over my arms at the same time);

- Elephant riding in Laos;

- Hanging out with local people in Vietnam Central Highlands;

- Playing pool with Hmong people in Sapa (and discovering that the same bar went on fire at the same time I left Sapa – it was not me, I swear) ;

- Party in Pulau Perhetian;

- Get lost during bicycle riding around Shangrila mountains and in Yangshuo rice fields;

- To be up at 5000 mt in China and down to the sea at -30 mt in Philippines;

- The death bus from Shangri la to Daocheng;

- The vomit bus from Danba to Chengdu;

- The sticky bus in Philippines;

- The smile of the children and the curiosity of old people who see foreigner for the first time;

- Eating pork bbq and pork sizig with a nice ice cold San Miguel beer in Dumaguete, eating fresh giant crabs in Hua Hin, bbq in Luang Prabang and Luang Nam Tah, drinking ice coffee in Hoi An, the ice fruits and cream in Hanoi streets, eating lamb with black pepper sauce and orange tea in Cameron Highlands, eating fried noodle in Yangshuo and Shangrila, the late night dumpling with peanut sauce in Shenzen.



But maybe the most amazing thing is that it was relatively easy for me to be out hitting the road for 1 year, I still remember the fear, the big issue of leaving a secure life 1 year ago, I would have never said that it would be like this, to experience the ultimate freedom of a no stress, no commitment life.



I wish myself to be lucky enough to experience the same during next 12 months.



Luca

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